[NEWS] Braddock Rescued! Orion Remains at Large!

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This evening Queen Dawn addressed a gathering at the gates of Castle British. Tho there was light banter with some of the more .... uhm... vocal of those waiting below, the look on her face was grave.

"Greetings Citizens of Legends" she said. "As many of you know, we have been recently menaced by the unholy one known as Orion the Haunted. At last we spoke, Orion had kidnapped our objective in one Lt. Xavier Braddock. This time tested warrior has been missed for weeks as of now, and at long last scouts have possibly located his whereabouts."

Dawn paused here to consider her next words, her brow knitted in worry. "We recieved a garbled transmission via communication crystal" she continued, "that was cut short before its intended end. The transmission reads as such:

"Braddock found my Queen! Deep inside the Yew Cypts,

The open sarcophagus of......"

"The message ended there. The scout who sent this has not been seen or heard from since and the only other sound was that of a horrible creature's mystic howl before dead silence." Dawn lowered her face for a moment, and when she raised it again the worry that was there was being replaced by anger. "We can assume this was the brave scouts final act of bravery. I have sent for our forces most trusted Captain, Candrin Devar, and he has willingly agreed to lead you into the darkness this eve."

Captain Devar strode into the throng gathered there and proudly saluted his Queen. Looking us over he said, "Let us venture tonight as one and rescue Braddock!" and then turned his attention once again to the fair Queen Dawn.

"Seek out the Yew Crypts search them well my loyal subjects" she said with a strong voice, "for the entrance must be there! Let us hope we are in time and Orion has not learned of the Blade's location!"

As we turned to follow Candrin Devar in our quest, the Queen called out "Safe journeys citizens! I anxiously await your safe return!"

Upon entering the dreaded crypts in Yew we found not only the regular denizens but an assortment of imported vile beings from all corners of Sosaria. Controllers, Chaos Dragoon and dark wisps roamed the surrounding woods. Inside, along the dank hallways, the dark creatures from the southern reaches of Ter Mur stood in our way beside shadow wyrms. Battling thru we found ourselves in an area with open crypts, the work of some graverobbers, no doubt, and on the wall a puzzling item... a pristine tapestry, looking as tho it belonged in a fine home, and certainly not there in a dark dungeon. Touching the tapestry opened a magical doorway to horror.

In the halls beyond the tapestry there was naught but death and destruction. Tho healers stood by to help the wounded they were severely tested by the amount of damage being done to the rescue party. However, persistance, and a lot of "In Vas Mani" brought the team to a room at the end of the tunnel where Lieutenant Braddock was being held.

It is unclear if our efforts routed Orion the Haunted and he fled to avoid capture or if he was simply absent from the area at the time, but we did not need to confront him tonight.

Captain Devar, seeing that Braddock was weak and in need of medical attention, brought him swiftly to the healer in Britain where they immediately made him comfortable and saw to his needs. Candrin Devar, for his leadership and bravery tonite, was awarded a special cloak bearing the crest of Queen Dawn, as were all of those in attendance.

We certainly wish the good Lieutenant a speedy recovery. Wandering around the castle later on this evening I overheard a conversation in the kitchen, where I stopped for a drink of water. The cook was telling Pepta, the taste-tester, that Queen Dawn was anxious to speak to Braddock about how much Orion now knows about the whereabouts of the Blade of Shadows. Lieutenant Braddock seems a strong man, but we do not know what tortures were put upon him these last few weeks.

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